Budding entrepreneurs interested in turning their business ideas into a reality have an extra month to enter a competition to find the most enterprising young person in the East Midlands.

Developed by Unleashing Enterprise, the 'Next Big Thing' competition encourages 14 to 25 year olds to come up with an innovative idea for an enterprising product or service which will benefit their community for the chance to win an iPad, iPhone or business software to help take their entrepreneurial ideas to the next level.

The online competition, part of the Enterprising Streak campaign, was launched on Wednesday 17 November during Global Entrepreneurship Week (15-19 November) and can be found at www.enterprisingstreak.co.uk.

Entering the competition is easy and anyone interested in applying must complete the online application form by 25 February 2011. The application will involve putting together a business proposal, and a 350 word summary of the product or service and its benefits.

A panel of judges made up of from the East Midlands Unleashing Enterprise partnership will then review all entries and the three winners will be announced in March 2011.

"We've already had some really good ideas submitted, including a GPS panic alarm phone app, a bike stand, tool box and kit bag in one and an infrared baby monitor," said Sarah Lee, Regional Manager for Unleashing Enterprise, "but we want even more young people to apply so we have extended the closing date and are looking forward to receiving lots more suggestions as to what could be the Next Big Thing."

This particular age group has been identified in Enterprise UK's Entrepreneurship 2020 report highlighted that 14 to 25 year olds need the opportunity to develop enterprise skills through practical experiences that test their ability to start a business at a level of risk that they are comfortable with.

Please visit www.enterprisingstreak.co.uk for further information, terms and conditions, and to apply.

Source: EMDA